Discover the taste of Portugal’s Dão region

About Dão

A region of high pine clad granite mountains and stunning vistas, you can drive for miles in Dão, often through forests without seeing a single vineyard.

They are there, more often than not as pockets of vines in forest clearings. The high elevations and cooler temperatures slow down the ripening of the grapes and give a higher acidity. The Dão has been flagged up as a place to watch for quality. Wines from the Dão are lighter in style than the Douro but have shown to age very well because of the tannins and acidity.

Touriga Nacional is also grown here along with grape varieties long associated with Dão, Alfrocheiro and Jaen which together create amazing wines of restrained elegance and finesse, its concentration and tannins giving it great ageing potential. It is no wonder that Dão has been described as the Burgundy of Portugal !

In Dão, Touriga Nacional and Alfrocheiro can perform at their very best making red wines of character and intensity, flavours of herbs, spiced plums and red cherry balanced with fresh acidity. These red wines pair really well with grilled meats and if you like a wine in the style of Pinot Noirs the Dão wines won’t disappoint!

Dão white wines are great value. They are made with blends of grapes like as Malvasia Fina, Cerceal and Bical. Encruzado is probably the most famous with crisp citrus and ripe melon flavours, good acidity and minerality and delicate floral character. If you enjoy white wines with wonderful flavours and mineral complexity try a Dão white as an aperitif or with roasted chicken.